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percent.
This
maintains
a
strong
incentive
for
insurers
to
pay
claims
on
time
and
to
settle
reasonable
demands
quickly.
(5)
Attorney
fees
will
still
be
owed
by
the
insurer
when
the
plaintiff
lawyer
makes
a
reasonable
pre-lawsuit
demand
for
damages.
To
stop
the
abusive
litigation,
the
bill
implements
common-sense
reforms.
A
60-day
pre-lawsuit
notice
is
already
required
by
law,
but
regularly
ignored
by
unethical
plaintiff
lawyers,
with
no
consequences
to
those
lawyers.
HB
1774
simply
requires
60
days
notice
prior
to
filing
a
lawsuit.
This
gives
the
insurer
the
opportunity
to
make
a
settlement
offer
to
the
policyholder,
making
the
property
owner
whole
more
quickly
and
potentially
avoiding
a
long
and
costly
lawsuit.
Thats
good
news
for
Texans
because
TDI
found
that
lawsuits
take
seven
times
longer
to
resolve
than
regular
insurance
claims
nearly
two
years
compared
to
about
three
months.
Additionally,
TDI
found
that
some
lawyers
make
outrageously
excessive
demands
in
these
lawsuits
on
average
four
times
more
than
what
an
insurer
eventually
pays.
To
encourage
fact-based
demands
and
again,
quicker
resolutions
for
families
and
businesses
if
the
attorney
recovers
less
than
20
percent
of
the
amount
he
states
in
the
pre-suit
notice
is
needed
to
repair
or
replace
the
damaged
property,
the
defendant
owes
him
no
attorney
fees.
If
the
attorney
recovers
80
percent
or
more
of
what
he
demanded,
the
insurer
must
pay
all
of
his
attorney
fees.
Anything
between
20
and
80
percent
is
prorated.
Texas
has
the
strongest
consumer
protection
laws
in
the
nation
for
policyholders
against
insurance
companies
and
that
will
continue
to
be
the
case
under
HB
1774,
which
is
why
it
passed
the
Texas
House
with
overwhelming
support.
House
Bill
1774
holds
accountable
both
slow-paying
insurance
companies
and
lawyers
who
exploit
our
legal
system
for
personal
gain.
###